Middlesex left stunned by Gloucestershire revival
Middlesex 256-9 (50 ovs): Voges 81, Roland-Jones 65; Norwell 5-36
Gloucestershire 257-5 (49.1 ovs): Cockbain 108*; Roland-Jones 2-46, Helm 1-31
Middlesex (0 pts) lost to Gloucestershire (2 pts) by five wickets
Middlesex are still looking for their first win of the season after losing out in a see-saw Royal London One-Day Cup clash at Lord’s.
Adam Voges and Toby Roland-Jones rescued the hosts from a perilous position with a century stand – and a home victory seemed inevitable after they captured five early Gloucestershire wickets.
However, the visitors triumphed thanks to an unbroken partnership of 192 between Ian Cockbain (108 not out) and Benny Howell (86 not out) – leaving Middlesex with just one point from their first two games after a rain-affected draw with Sussex on Thursday.
Middlesex opted to bat first but Liam Norwell (5-36) caused problems for the top order, having Paul Stirling caught at slip for a breezy 26 and Nick Gubbins (6) soon followed in an identical manner, while Dawid Malan (31) appeared to be settling into his groove when he nudged behind.
With John Simpson bowled around his pads for 12 and James Franklin (0) lasting just three balls before he became Norwell’s fifth victim, the departure of Ryan Higgins (3) left Middlesex reeling at 114-6.
Voges (81) and Roland-Jones – who struck his best one-day score of 65 from 71 balls – rebuilt the innings with a seventh-wicket partnership of 111.
But both perished through careless shots to cover and it was only due to some spirited late hitting from Steven Finn (21*) that Middlesex clambered above 250 mark.
Gloucestershire made a steady start in reply, but were pegged back by the consistent accuracy of Tom Helm, who had Phil Mustard caught behind for 10.
Michael Klinger rattled up 30 from 43 balls but when he carved Roland-Jones to gully, his side crumpled from 54-1 to an apparently terminal 65-5.
However, Cockbain and Howell had other ideas and the latter clubbed three huge sixes into the Mound Stand to keep his side in contention as the required run-rate rose above 10.
Middlesex could not separate the pair and centurion Cockbain finished the job with five balls to spare, hammering Higgins through cover for another six.
